Well, it would appear that yours truly, my sports team and the Herald Express are to blame for the demise of Torquay United.

Not only that but we are also in cahoots with, and ‘in the pocket’ of, Gulls owner Clarke Osborne as United continue to plunge towards relegation and the National League South yet he forges ahead with his rape and pillage of Plainmoor and his plans to build a new out-of-town stadium and harvest all the riches that may go with it.

Gulls fans are passionate at the best of times but the sorry state United find themselves in has had them on the warpath good and proper. As I say, it’s not just on the field, that is causing concern among the United faithful. They also want to know what owner and Gaming International boss Mr Osborne has for them off the field and, in particular, where the actual Plainmoor ground fits into the jigsaw.

He is standing by his vision for the club which comprises a five-year plan including the new stadium and the appointment of a ‘local’ board of directors.

He has delivered on one part of the vision – the successful revival of a youth academy. But at the moment there appears to be little movement on other elements.

Delays surrounding another one of his projects, namely the building of a stadium at his Swindon Speedway site hasn’t helped reduce the suspicions of the supporters.

Clarke Osborne (Image: Sean Hernon/PPAUK)

Mr Osborne has blamed the Swindon delays on ‘technical’ issues and says the appointment of a local board is still part of the plan, although it has been put on the back burner a little. And of the biggest bone of contention — that new stadium possibly at the Willows — he has been quoted as saying: “I am convinced that a new purpose-built multi-event stadium and academy, with supporting leisure activities, good road and rail communication and acres of car parking will provide the facilities and finance for sustained success and bring considerable inward investment and spend to Torbay.”

He adds: “The Mayor and the Council are aligned in this vision and are both supportive and encouraging.”

I will come back to that...

The attacks from a small minority of so-called fans have been quite personal at times and totally unnecessary. Geoff Harrop, general manager and Mr Osborne’s right hand man at United, says: “We have had to put up with lots of stick. People say that is part and parcel of the job. But when you have personal post codes put on the website...

“The abuse has been rude. I have been involved with football clubs for 40 years and I can rub it off my shoulders and say they are entitled to their opinions. But sometimes that opinion is over the top.

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“They are even saying me and Clarke are related and I am his brother-in-law. I wouldn’t mind if that was the case because it would make me 10 years younger.”

He says former owners and chairmen like Thea Bristow, Dave Phillips and now Mr Osborne have ‘put in a serious amount of money’ into the club. “They have put their life and soul into the football club,” says Mr Harrop. “They should not get the abuse that might be thrown at them.”

He insists: “Everybody is trying their pants off to make this work. With Clarke Osborne’s help we are going to make it work.

“We are sitting at the bottom of the league. Results have not done us justice. If we were getting the results on the pitch would we be getting the stick we are getting now?

Geoff Harrop

Of Mr Osborne’s five-year plan and sticking to it Mr Harrop says: “I totally back what Clarke has said. That has not changed since day one.

“I am totally supportive of him because he has done a fantastic job on his own. That says a lot about the man.

“He has financed the club and the players. That has cost a few quid. You are talking about a lot of money.

“Until you work at a club you don’t realise how much these guys put into a club. It is astronomical.

“You can only applaud them.”

He talks of his former club Colchester United where he was once a player and former youth team coach and says: “Layer Road (their ground) was the heart and soul of Colchester.

“Now they have a fantastic new stadium out by the motorway.

“Go to Fleetwood and MK Dons and they have new stadiums. There are so many benefits.

“If that’s going to be a more commercially sustainable business I cannot for the life of me understand why people are worried about what’s happening to Plainmoor if we have a new stadium.

“The whole town could benefit from a new stadium.

“It has to go through the council. We have to have their backing.

“Clarke Osborne is working hard and the council is working hard. I can see it happen.”

Now back to Mayor Gordon Oliver, landlords Torbay Council and that elephant in the room, the Plainmoor ground itself.

It is said that the mayor and council are supportive of the Plainmoor vision.

But lifelong supporter, former Bay MP and now Paignton councillor Adrian Sanders says: “There was a statement made by Clarke Osborne that said that the Mayor and the council are on board. But it has not been before councillors.

“If there has been discussions between the owner of the club and the mayor, which is possible, and the mayor has given an indication that he would be interested in something, the owner has to realise that from next May the Mayor does not exist and whatever he has said will be redundant.”

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He adds: “If Clarke Osborne is serious about building a new stadium he has to talk to the council.

“I know that from questions there has been no approach made regarding the lease at Plainmoor.

“The council officers cannot respond to something that has not happened.

“From what I can tell Plainmoor is protected by a covenant. He would have to overcome that.

“There are so many steps to get to where speculation is that Clarke Osborne wants to get to.”

I understand that the council has talked, if that the right word, to United about the future — but not only to Mr Osborne but to previous regimes as well.

As yet nothing has been progressed because there has been no definitive plan to progress. Plainmoor has been parked at least for the time being.

But what would happen to the ground if there was a concrete plan on the table?

I am led to believe that of paramount importance to the council is the continuing existence of Torquay United Football Club. No way would they sell the lease of Plainmoor until they saw United in a new stadium of their own.

And what of Plainmoor if the new stadium was secured?

Well here’s a speculative scenario for all of those punters giving us so much stick in recent weeks.

I cannot see Plainmoor ever being developed. I can see it perhaps being used by the adjoining former Westlands and now Spires College as their sports facility.

At the moment the Spires use the playing fields of Quinta for their sporting activities.

Might that land be freed up for residential development and some of the money ploughed into United’s new stadium?